I walked into a yoga class the other day and I was the only guy there.

There must have been 40 to 50 women in the class. To be honest, it didn’t bother me one bit. I was completely happy with being the only man, but I don’t understand why more men don’t do yoga.

I used to be a little bit embarrassed to tell my friends I do yoga because I thought I would never hear the end of it. But now, I just try to convince them by saying, “Guys, if you’re single, go to a yoga class, not to mention you’ll get in great shape.”

Not one of them has ever said anything to contradict this statement.

Here’s 10 reasons why more guys should do yoga.

1. You’ll work different muscle groups

Most guys go to the weight room and do the same exercises for years and years. Yoga offers a way to build strength in different parts of your muscles that you’ve probably never built before.

2. You will burn calories

If you take a Vinyasa class or something similar, you will burn a lot of calories that will help you lose weight. It’s also not as hard on your joints as running is.

3. Yoga reduces toxins in the muscles

A lot of guys don’t do to much stretching, so toxins tend to build up in their muscles. Yoga is all about stretching all the various muscle groups to release built up of toxins in the body.

4. Yoga is great for stress relief

A major component of yoga is working on meditation and breathing. It’s like a meditation in motion that will help you clear your mind from your stress-filled work day.

5. It’s great for pain relief

If you have sore or stiff muscles, yoga does great things to relax and relieve the tension areas of the body.

Professional athletes do yoga to gain any extra advantage they can get.

7. You’ll feel better

Yoga will help you sweat and release serotonin in the brain, which will improve your mood. It will also improve you confidence because you’ll be in better shape. Most importantly, a lot of yoga includes meditation, which will help you become more calm.

Comments

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11. You might start reading about yoga philosophy, become a yoga writer, get utterly absorbed in the yoga blogosphere, start writing for elephant journal, become the elephant yoga editor, and then Associate Publisher.

nice post…especially to the yoga-averse…i'd have to say the whole "go if your single" thing is a stretch (pun intended)…i'd rather not see guys encouraged in any way – subtle or not – to assume yoga classes are date potentials…it leads to creepiness and a whole host of other issues that no one really wants in a yoga class (at least i dont; or maybe cuz i'm not 20 anymore…dunno)… without being holier than thou its a bit off the map for why someone should go to yoga…but, like you i'm often the only guy or one of a few – i think classes are served more with better yin/yang male/female energies…so your other reasons are a nice primer

I practice Bikram Yoga in Cleveland, Ohio, and the ratio of women to men is usually five or six to one. When I practiced vinyasa-style a few years ago, it seemed like it was seven or eight to one. There were times when it happened that I was the only male in a class. I always went to the back of the class then.

One thing I have noticed is that most teachers are women. The four teachers at the Bikram studio I go to are all women, and when I think of other local teachers, only a handful of them are men. I don't have a preference, especially during Bikram practice because the discomfort level is so high and after a while I just don't give a damn who is doing the instructing, but perhaps many men prefer not to be taught an exercise by a woman who is in better shape than they are.

Bikram eschews overt spirituality, meditation, chanting, new age-anything, and concentrates on the physical practice,which might account for more men gravitating to it. Most studio yoga practice seems to be part and parcel of the improve your whole life movement – breathe, be here now, all that – which maybe many men resist because it is not really the American way.

I’m not a guy so I don’t have any authority on this matter but I can second the claim that yoga is great for cross-training purposes. I’m a competitive cyclist and mountain biker and my climbing and technical skills have improved immensely thanks to yoga (all the damn core work). I also maintain my fitness level through the off-season pretty well. If you’re wondering why I’m passing you on that hill guys, it’s because of yoga.

12. Your children/spouse/friend/etc needs a ride to and from class and taking part in the class beats sitting around for an hour or so waiting for it to end.
– Weird, but this is what got me to my first class, which I thought I wouldn't last 10 minutes in, but which was great. I haven't missed a class since. So give it a shot even if your reason for trying it is as lame as mine was. There is a good chance you will find that all the other reasons listed above are true. By the way, on the gender issue, us men are way out numbered, but I salute all you ladies out there that kept Yoga alive for us guys to discover even if it takes us a while!

[…] We’ve lost those rites of passage that have guided us like beacons through the darkness for centuries. How ironic then, that on my birthday, I taught a yoga class composed solely of men. It wasn’t planned, yet it happened. In a decade and a half of practicing and teaching yoga, I have never attended a class that wasn’t at least 80 percent women. […]

I think there are quite a few younger male teachers out there (and my awesome Seattle teachers Bob Smith and Richard Schactel) but yoga doesn't pay the bills and a lot of guys drop out of teaching because they can't support a family and a mortgage. But still, there are a lot of very fine male senior teachers out there around the country. But yeah, usually the guys are the mini-minority. I'm 65, overweight, stiff, and sluggish. I do yoga pretty frequently and it doesn't help me with these problems, but I still enjoy it.

Wonder why 49 of 50 people is female gender? Maby its because yoga isn´t a maskuline thing to do… but I heard its much farting, sweeting and nudity so it should attract the male gender, maby its only promoted wrong

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